Rock group Third Eye Blind have fired guitarist Kevin Cadogan —

who co-wrote 10 of the 14 songs on the band's smash-hit debut album

— and replaced him with original member Tony Fredianelli.

"[Drummer] Brad Hargreaves, [singer/songwriter] Stephan Jenkins and

[bassist] Arion Salazar wish him every success," a statement released

Wednesday by the band's management said of Cadogan.

The decision to fire Cadogan came following a weekend performance at the

Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah, according to a band spokesperson,

who asked not to be identified. She did not say why Cadogan was replaced

but acknowledged that there had been tension between him and the rest of

the band.

Cadogan confirmed on his Web site (www.kevincadogan.com) that he had

been fired and that Hargreaves was the one who broke the news to him.

"I've always been about the music, not the money," Cadogan said on the

site. Russell Bloom, a spokesperson for the band's management, would not

comment on the situation.

Fredianelli has been with the group as a touring keyboardist and guitarist

since 1996, when he left the official lineup. He played guitar on

"Semi-Charmed Life" (RealAudio

excerpt), the provocative hit about sex and drug abuse from the

band's eponymous debut, which established it as a popular act in 1997. The album is certified

quadruple-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America.

The new guitarist, sporting a beard and shades, appeared with Third Eye

Blind during a performance on Wednesday's "The Tonight Show With Jay Leno"

on NBC-TV. The band performed its single, "Never Let You Go" (RealAudio

excerpt), which is at #25 on this week's just-released Billboard

Hot 100 and has helped its album, Blue, climb from #74 to #52 on the

Billboard 200 albums chart in three weeks. Blue has sold

almost 400,000 copies since its release in November, according to SoundScan.

The long-haired Jenkins, wearing a gray sweater, played his red guitar

only during the power-pop chorus, as Fredianelli maintained the song's

quick, choppy riff. Jenkins and his bandmates made no mention of Cadogan.